Meat and Potatoes Kind of Girl

I swear, I meant to post another recipe between my Irish posts, but I haven't been cooking as of late. I'm in a little slump at the moment where standing in the kitchen makes my back and feet hurt so I just haven't been doing it as often. Anyway, I couldn't go back on yet another promise so I dragged my butt into the kitchen and put dinner on the table.

Stew. Who doesn't love a nice hearty, beefy stew? Especially when the weather has finally turned to the chillier side. I live for a good beef stew in the Fall, even more so when I can cook it in the slow cooker all day long. Of course, I didn't use my brain or my slow cooker this time around, but it was still fantastic. Served over a bed of Irish Champ, this stew was everything I had been craving (and apparently, the last time I made Champ, I served it with a different beef stew; go figure).

I'm going to tell you a secret. This stew called for Guinness. I made the mistake of not making this until Sunday when no liquor stores were open. So I substituted with an American dark lager (Amber Bock to be precise). It still tasted really good so don't feel the need to make the extra stop to get the import when the domestic beer was just as good (please, don't send the leprechauns after me for saying that). Slainte!

Brown Stew with Guinness
Recipe from The Little Book of Irish Family Cooking

1 lb round steak, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces (I just bought stew meat)
1 1/4 Tbs flour to coat meat
Salt and pepper
Olive or vegetable oil for frying
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced (a bag of baby carrots came in handy here)
1 tomato, skinned and chopped (cut a small X int he bottom of the tomato, place in boiling water for 60 seconds, remove tomato to ice water until cool enough to handle, peel the skin off)
Thyme, marjoram, and parsley
2/3 cup Guinness (just use the whole bottle)

1. Put the flour, a pinch of salt, and some pepper in a plastic bag. Add the meat and shake until all sides of the beef are coated.
2. In a large pot, fry the meat gently until golden-brown, then transfer to a plate. Fry the onion and carrots lightly in the meat juices. Then add the tomato and Guinness. Add the herbs, reserving a bit of parsley (this is to your taste). Add the meat to the mix. You may need to add a little water to cover everything (I opened a second beer and used that to top it off).
3. Simmer gently for about 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is tender. Taste the juice halfway through the cooking. Add more salt, if necessary.
4. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve with steamed potatoes or pasta shells (or champ!).

Just a heads up, this weekend, my kitchen is turning into a tour of the world. The next three recipes will be from Lebanon and Greece and then the fourth will be from Italy (you're getting double the recipes on my next post cause I love you that much).